Managing Transition in Clusters: Area Development Negotiations as a Tool for Sustaining Traditional Industries in a Swiss Prealpine Region

Abstract

We document a two-year transdisciplinary project on the transition management processes of regional clusters in textile, timber, and dairy industries in the Swiss canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden. This canton is a rural prealpine area, which has been historically shaped by traditional industries and which lies in the vicinity of St Gallen in the Greater Zürich Area. Scientists and regional stakeholders collaboratively planned, assessed, and discussed how to realize cooperative business strategies in order to sustain a continued presence in their selected industry. 101 stakeholders participated in a project, which made use of the area development negotiations method. This systematic and analytical method involved (a) the construction of different regional business strategies and clustering variants through formative scenario analysis, (b) a multicriteria evaluation of these variants, and (c) a multi-stakeholder consensus process on different forms of horizontal and vertical cooperation. As a result, a regional learning process with the ultimate goal of moving towards a sustainable development form was initiated between industries, public authorities, and research institutions.